Feasibility of absorbable plates and screws for fixation in reduction malarplasty with L-shaped osteotomy

Reduction malarplasty with L-shaped osteotomy has been widely applied to correct malar prominence because of its simple manipulation, satisfactory outcome, and few complications in east Asians. Secondary surgery for the removal of titanium miniplates or microplates and screws is often needed because of the drawbacks of implants. To overcome the disadvantage, the authors applied absorbable plates and screws instead of titanium fixation system and evaluated the feasibility of them. A total of 47 women (mean age, 26.8 y) diagnosed with malar prominence were randomly selected and received L-shaped osteotomy for malar reduction from January 2008 to December 2009. Of these, 22 patients (group A) received absorbable plates and screws (Fixsorb-MX, Takiron, Japan) for fixation and 25 patients received titanium fixation system as control (group B). The outcomes were evaluated by photographs and x-ray films. The distance of the anterior protrusive point of the bilateral zygoma (Zv-Zv), the distance from the paries anterior of acoustic duct (P) to the anterior protrusive point of zygoma (P-Zv), and the angle formed by the nasion-Zv line and the P-Zv line (∠NZP) were analyzed through posteroanterior and lateral cephalograms preoperatively, 10 days postoperatively, and at 6 to 12 months of follow-up, respectively. In group A, 20 patients (90.9%) were satisfied with the outcomes compared with 92.0% in group B. No zygomatic nonunion and other complications occurred after surgery in both groups. In group A, the values of Zv-Zv and P-Zv were 88.4±1.6 and 68.6±6.8 mm at 10 days after surgery, which increased to 90.6±1.5 and 70.7±3.0 mm at 6 to 12 months of follow-up. The value of ∠NZP was 105.0±4.3 degrees at 10 days after surgery and 103.2±3.6 degrees at 6 to 12 months after surgery. In group B, the values of distance and degree maintained almost the same at different time points after surgery. The results had no significant difference between groups A and B (P>0.05). The findings of the study suggested that the application of absorbable plate system in reduction malarplasty with L-shaped osteotomy is feasible. The absorbable fixation system would have a wider application in craniofacial surgery.